建立緣由
Purpose of Establishment

有感於長久以來，天主教的許多樂譜多為樂譜反覆翻拍、手寫簡譜，甚至是口耳相傳。

許多歌曲就這麼流淌在時間長河之中，儘管作曲作詞人做出再優秀再感人的作品，卻始終沒有一個地方能將各處樂譜用一致的格式永久保存。

有的詞曲者，創作出動人的歌曲，卻是用Word(Microsoft Office)拼拼湊湊，勉強表達出一份簡譜；更有甚者，將詞曲手寫於A4紙，便從此傳唱。

為何此處的樂譜要以「五線譜為主，簡譜為輔」？

(詳細文章可參考：輔仁大學天主教學術研究院『簡譜與音樂能力』)

若以文字比喻，「簡譜：猶如簡體中文」，「五線譜：猶如繁體中文」。

簡譜，適合讓初學者踏入音樂世界的大門，但相較於五線譜，簡譜喪失了許多功能。

例如：

「簡譜僅適合單音歌曲，難以表達和聲」(想像一下，一次演奏五個音，五線譜和簡譜各是如何表達的)

「簡譜無法從視覺上感受音律的流動」(再想像一下，簡譜中的1234567，如果放在五線譜中，是不是更能感受音階向上的感覺)

再看看天主教的許多古老樂譜，亦是以五線譜，甚至是以古式F clef、C clef表達。

因此，此處的樂譜將以五線譜為主，簡譜為輔；希望讀譜的你，不要排斥五線譜，現在看不懂沒關係，看久了，你總會對他有一點親切感，或許哪天，你會忽然想理解他。

-共勉之-

Feeling the need for change in the longstanding tradition of Catholic music, many scores have been repeatedly transcribed, hand-written, or passed down through oral tradition.

Countless songs have flowed through the river of time in this manner. 

Despite the efforts of composers and lyricists to create exceptional and moving works, there has never been a single place to permanently preserve these scores in a consistent format.

Some songwriters create touching songs using tools like Word(Microsoft Office), cobbling together a makeshift sheet music, while others simply handwrite lyrics and melodies on A4 paper, and these songs continue to be passed on.

Why do we emphasize "staff notation with simplified notation as an adjunct" in our music scores here? 

(For more details, refer to "Simplified Notation and Musical Ability" by the Academic Research Institute of Catholicism at Fu Jen Catholic University.)

If we were to use a textual analogy, "simplified notation is like simplified Chinese characters," while "staff notation is like traditional Chinese characters."

Simplified notation is suitable for beginners entering the world of music, but it lacks many functions compared to staff notation.

For example:

"simplified notation is only suitable for monophonic songs and is difficult to express harmony" (imagine it, how staff and simplified notations would express playing five notes simultaneously).

"Simplified notation cannot visually convey the flow of musical pitch" (imagine it again, how the numbers 1 to 7 in simplified notation would feel when placed on staff notation, which might better convey the ascending scale).

If you look at many ancient Catholic scores, they are also expressed in staff notation, sometimes even using ancient F clef and C clef.

Therefore, in this context, staff notation will be the primary notation, with simplified notation as a supplementary tool.

We hope that as you read music, you won't dismiss staff notation.

Even if you can't understand it at first, with time, you may develop a sense of familiarity, and perhaps one day, you'll suddenly find yourself wanting to understand it better.

-Let's encourage each other in this endeavor-